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The tomb owner Yang Can’s ancestral home was Taiyuan City in Shanxi Province, who served as the propitiation official of Bozhou in the early years (1201-1204) of the Jiatai reign of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In more than 40 years in his reign, in foreign affairs, he opposed the invasion of the Jin people, and adhered to supporting the Southern Song Dynasty. In domestic affairs, he adopted some policies and measures suitable for the development of the society. Through the hard work of the people of all ethnic groups in Bozhou, the economy and culture witnessed outstanding development.

Yang Can’s tomb was first built in the Chunyou reign (1241-1251) under Emperor Lizong in the Song Dynasty, and covers an area of 50.1 square meters with a flat-roof and two-room structure. The tomb was built with white grit stone and rags. It was fastened with loop locks. The plane layout of the tomb is the juxtaposition of the south and the north rooms, each room including three parts: the grave door, the front room, and the back room, with aisles in it. The tomb is 8.42 meters in length. The front room is 8.04 meters wide, and the back room is 7.53 meters wide. The stone inscriptions and decorations on the southern and the northern walls in the two rooms are symmetric to that on the back wall of the back room. The content is largely identical, but with minor differences. The coffin bed is placed in the middle of the back room, which is 3.42 meters in length, 1.84 meters in width, and 0.43 meter in height. The four corners stand circular columns carved with dragon patterns. Each of the tombs in the back room has a quadrate sunk panel. The height, situation, ornament of the tomb door in the two rooms are basically the same.

The tomb was robbed in early years, and many goods buried with Yang Can have stolen. In 1957, when the tomb was cleaned up and dug, there were only a few cultural relics found in the silt soil around the coffin bed, such as pottery bottle, shadow black porcelain bowl, and incomplete ion tripod, copper mirror with handle and two copper drums, etc. One of the copper drums is 12.25 kg in weight, and 28cm in total height. The diameter of the drum surface is 44.5 cm. The drum wall is filled up with the fragment of the copper cash. It is estimated that the drum should have been casted in the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1279). The other copper drum is 17.75kg in weight, and 30cm in total height. The diameter of the drum surface is 49.5 cm. It has been reputed as one of the standard wares in the eight styles in the phylogeny of south China by many scholars who have studied the copper drums.

The outer and inner sides of the tomb of Yang Can are carved with many stone inscriptions and decorations rich in contents and exquisite in techniques. They can be divided into 5 categories: human figures, animals, flowers and plants, household utensils and design. The carving skill is mainly high basso-relievo and low basso-relievo, at long intervals is carved in hidden lines, and the round carving is applied to the base of the column and the circumvolution dragon on the column. Among the 28 statues, statues of the four warriors are the highest, with an average height of 1.54 meters. Four Hercules are the shortest, and they are only 40 to 50 cm. Because they are in different positions, the dresses and the looks of all the characters are different. The sitting statue of the tomb owner is neatly dressed. Statue of civilian officials and woman officials with wide gowns and big sleeves stand on its both sides. The tribute ministers are with curly hairs and without shoes. It seemed they had endured the hardship of a long journey. The warriors wear helmets and armors, and are extremely powerful and arrogant. The Hercules bear heavy loads, and the two eyes open wide. All characters take the tomb owner as the center. The patterns of flowers, plants and animal on the walls of the tomb are conceived ingeniously, and the engraving is refined. Among them, the Two Lions Play with Ball, Phoenix Flying Through Grapes, Wild Deer Holds Glossy Gendarmes in its Mouth and The Waitress Opens the Door are outstanding works with the artistic characteristics of the Song Dynasty. There were six habitacles in the two rooms of the grave. They are all wood imitated buildings, and the window wall, girder pole and dougong (a system of brackets in Chinese building) and warped corners and banisters are all materials for research into ancient architecture.

(Source: chinaculture.org)